Mike Mayock's top 3 are Hayden, Milliner and Rhodes. This is a stunning ascent for Hayden, but when you look at the young man on film, he has what you want in regards to his back pedal, ability to flip his hips, ball skills and play making ability.

I saw his story on the NFL Network and that was an amazing situation, as the kid almost died. He is passing teams physicals though, and Miami did have the young man in for a visit this past weekend.

This is the story from NFL Network.com.

D.J. Hayden rises to Mike Mayock's top corner in draft

By Chris Wesseling Around the League Writer Published: April 18, 2013 at 02:34 p.m. Updated: April 18, 2013 at 10:53 p.m.

Houston cornerback D.J. Hayden is the best story of the 2013 NFL Draft. He was minutes away from dying last November after an on-field collision tore the vena cava blood vessel off the back of his heart -- an injury never before seen in a high-level athlete.Jeremiah: Top 50 draft prospectsHow do the best players in the 2013 draft stack up against each other? Daniel Jeremiah presents his definitive top 50. More ...

Hayden entered the draft process with speed and medical concerns. He erased doubts about his speed by blazing a sub-4.40 40-yard dash as Houston's Pro Day. In a pre-draft conference call Thursday, NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock suggested that Hayden now has checked out medically in most draft rooms.

"Most of the teams have come to the conclusion that it was a once-in-a-gazillion situation," Mayock said. "That has no more chance of happening than it did in the first place."

After going back to the film to appreciate Hayden's toughness and tackling ability, Mayock has vaulted Hayden all the way to No. 1 among cornerbacks, ahead of consensus favorite Dee Milliner of Alabama. Hayden also is the top cornerback on NFL Films analyst Greg Cosell's board.2013 NFL Draft: Position rankingsWith the draft right around the corner, NFL.com ranks the top prospects available at every position on offense and defense. More ...

Mayock was particularly impressed with Hayden's performance against Louisiana Tech when he got in second-round wide receiver prospect Quinton Patton's jock and shut him down. "The kid couldn't get off the line," Mayock told the Rich Eisen podcast.

Maycok currently ranks Hayden as the No. 14 overall prospect in the draft.

Now that coaches have gotten involved in the grading, Mayock believes Hayden might go as early as No. 10 to the Tennessee Titans and no later than No. 21 to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Follow Chris Wesseling on Twitter @ChrisWesseling.

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Sun Apr 21, 2013 11:39 am

Phins Rock

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Re: D.J Hayden now #1 CB for Mike Mayock

I love Hayden too, but he didn't play enough man to man at Houston, or play against enough top level competition for me to feel comfortable with him in the 1st round. I'd be willing to move up from 42 for him.

Mayock's tripping if he has him ahead of Milliner though.

Sun Apr 21, 2013 11:59 am

phinsfansc

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Re: D.J Hayden now #1 CB for Mike Mayock

Phins Rock wrote:

I love Hayden too, but he didn't play enough man to man at Houston, or play against enough top level competition for me to feel comfortable with him in the 1st round. I'd be willing to move up from 42 for him.

Mayock's tripping if he has him ahead of Milliner though.

Hilarious, just hilarious............

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Sun Apr 21, 2013 12:05 pm

swerve13

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Re: D.J Hayden now #1 CB for Mike Mayock

Hayden would be a great pick for us. I believe he is the best corner this year. I've been reading about his quiet ascent up the boards for months now. Coaches and Scouts love this guy.If not for that life threatening injury everyone would know his name the way everyone knows Milliner's. This guy has more ability.

Sun Apr 21, 2013 2:23 pm

phinsfansc

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Re: D.J Hayden now #1 CB for Mike Mayock

swerve13 wrote:

Hayden would be a great pick for us. I believe he is the best corner this year. I've been reading about his quiet ascent up the boards for months now. Coaches and Scouts love this guy.If not for that life threatening injury everyone would know his name the way everyone knows Milliner's. This guy has more ability.

Would you take him at #12 swerve?

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Sun Apr 21, 2013 2:42 pm

wkloiber13

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Re: D.J Hayden now #1 CB for Mike Mayock

I'd have an issue taking any cornerback at 12, with the exception of Milliner. While I don't like that Milliner wasn't asked to backpedal at Alabama, I think his skill set is good for our system and he'll be able to start right away opposite Grimes. But I also feel the same way about Banks in the 2nd, and even Amerson in the 3rd. So while I like Milliner at 12, I'd rather see Miami trade back, add picks, and then go after a redzone weapon like Eifert or Patterson.

Sun Apr 21, 2013 2:46 pm

swerve13

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Re: D.J Hayden now #1 CB for Mike Mayock

phinsfansc wrote:

swerve13 wrote:

Hayden would be a great pick for us. I believe he is the best corner this year. I've been reading about his quiet ascent up the boards for months now. Coaches and Scouts love this guy.If not for that life threatening injury everyone would know his name the way everyone knows Milliner's. This guy has more ability.

Would you take him at #12 swerve?

definitely, the guy's a stud. Like Mayock said the other day if you want proof. Most scouts think Quinton Patton is an excellent WR with a great NFL future and Hayden completely shut him down when Houston played La. tach. Patton could't even get off the line of scrimmage.His closing speed and ball skills are insane.

You know, these days I think that I trust Mayock's opinion more than I do that of Kiper or McShay, so if he's that high on this kid, maybe there is something to it. Mayock was one of the few people really high on Russell Wilson before last year's draft (I personally loved the kid at NCST and Wisconsin), and look how that turned out.

Hayden would be a great pick for us. I believe he is the best corner this year. I've been reading about his quiet ascent up the boards for months now. Coaches and Scouts love this guy.If not for that life threatening injury everyone would know his name the way everyone knows Milliner's. This guy has more ability.

Would you take him at #12 swerve?

definitely, the guy's a stud. Like Mayock said the other day if you want proof. Most scouts think Quinton Patton is an excellent WR with a great NFL future and Hayden completely shut him down when Houston played La. tach. Patton could't even get off the line of scrimmage.His closing speed and ball skills are insane.

I love how he follows the ball instead of the man. Something Sean Smith could never do.

Dee Milliner is even better in that aspect. Mark my words, Milliner will be the better NFL corner. You're drinking too much of the Mayock kool aide, I never saw any posts where you promoted Hayden before Mayock's new rankings at CB.

Make no mistake, I wish Hayden all the luck in the world, but he is not going to be picked before Milliner, and for good reason. Milliner played in a superior conference, against superior competition in regards to who Hayden faced, and managed to have better stats as well.

The highlights you posted primarily show him making tackles...after the pass was completed to the receiver him, or another teammate was covering...look at Milliner's tape, that is a kid who attempts to make a play on the ball every darn time the quarterback targets the receiver he is covering.

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Last edited by AFCMiamiEast on Sun Apr 21, 2013 4:32 pm, edited 2 times in total.

you always hear the same things from scouts about Milliner. They say probably best corner in the draft but not an elite, top 10 worthy guy. I've been waiting for a corner to trump him. I figured it would happen and Hayden makes sense because his stock got derailed by that devastating injury.

Sun Apr 21, 2013 10:38 pm

wkloiber13

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Re: D.J Hayden now #1 CB for Mike Mayock

I hope he's the first cornerback off the board, and then Milliner falls to Miami.

Sun Apr 21, 2013 10:43 pm

swerve13

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Re: D.J Hayden now #1 CB for Mike Mayock

AFCMiamiEast wrote:

swerve13 wrote:

I love how he follows the ball instead of the man. Something Sean Smith could never do.

Dee Milliner is even better in that aspect. Mark my words, Milliner will be the better NFL corner. You're drinking too much of the Mayock kool aide, I never saw any posts where you promoted Hayden before Mayock's new rankings at CB.

Make no mistake, I wish Hayden all the luck in the world, but he is not going to be picked before Milliner, and for good reason. Milliner played in a superior conference, against superior competition in regards to who Hayden faced, and managed to have better stats as well.

The highlights you posted primarily show him making tackles...after the pass was completed to the receiver him, or another teammate was covering...look at Milliner's tape, that is a kid who attempts to make a play on the ball every darn time the quarterback targets the receiver he is covering.

you should do some research before you shoot your mouth off. I'm the one who put Hayden's name out there on this forum a month ago. And i've talked about him in numerous posts since. Tony can verify that too. My mock draft that I posted last week had Hayden going 25th to the Vikings and that was before Mayock decided to make him his top corner. And you obviously turned on the video for 40 seconds and then stopped watching it because at the end it shows a bunch of impressive interceptions by Hayden and also taking it to the house. (foot in mouth)

I believe if you search for a post that says "I would love to get this guy in the 4th round" from about a month ago you'll see my first post on Hayden. I've read great things about him going back 2 months ago. and he just kept gaining steam. I stay very current with draft info. It changes every week and Milliner could end up going later than you expect. You say Milliner is much better than Hayden, well I say that Hayden wil be the better pro. Much better hands and ball skills. Mayock and Lande both moved him the the #1 corner in this draft.

you should do some research before you shoot your mouth off. I believe if you search for a post that says "I would love to get this guy in the 4th round" from about a month ago you'll see my first post on Hayden.

Wanting to draft this guy in the 4th round is one thing, going for the 1st is a completely different scenario. Why take such offense to a comment? Shoot my mouth off? I'm pretty confident that I'm putting my thoughts into words, not really "shooting my mouth off". I have wanted Hayden as well for the past 3-4 months, just never in the 1st round. The decision between him and Milliner for me was night and day, same goes for the general consensus, and I'm not a sheep, I watched tons of tape. Same probably goes for you on Hayden, and power to you.

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Sun Apr 21, 2013 10:56 pm

swerve13

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Re: D.J Hayden now #1 CB for Mike Mayock

well that whole response was irresponsible on your part. You said i've never talked about Hayden before on here. I've been having back and forths with Tony on here all week about him. We both like him alot and we know his stock is skyrocketing. Then you said the video did not show him making any interceptions. Did you seriously not expect me to defend my position?

well that whole response was irresponsible on your part. You said i've never talked about Hayden before on here. I've been having back and forths with Tony on here all week about him. We both like him alot and we know his stock is skyrocketing. Then you said the video did not show him making any interceptions. Did you seriously not expect me to defend my position?

I never implied the thought of not expecting you to respond. I was referring to you wanting to draft him as a 1st round talent, as if you had him graded that high all along. I hope he does well, but if you're so confident in your attempt to belittle my opinion, I'd gladly offer a bet with you in who has the better season as a rook. I'm sure you'll be here after the season is over.

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Sun Apr 21, 2013 11:05 pm

phinsfansc

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Re: D.J Hayden now #1 CB for Mike Mayock

Mark, I think AFC is just saying that he likes Milliner over Hayden, PERIOD. He's not questioning that you have been on Hayden for a while.

AFC, I tend to agree with you that Milliner has played against much better competition, but LA Tech Quniton Patton is a pretty good WR, and Hayden shut him down. I do believe Hayden is a very good CB and would have no problem taking him late in the 1st, early 2nd round.

But, on to something relevant. I honestly had no idea who this D.J. Hayden was until I saw swerve13 and Tony talking about him on here. After doing some research on the guy, I feel confident in saying that the gap between him and Milliner is not as big as some might think. If I were to rank the CB's right now, to me he is the second ranked CB, just slightly behind Milliner. If there weren't so much good tape on Milliner I would put him at number one based on what I saw from Milliner at the combine and how bad his hands looked there. I still am high on Desmond Trufant, but have backed down on him being the best CB after watching some tape on Hayden. I would love to see Hayden in a Dolphins uniform as long as our medical staff doesn't have any issues with his injury

well that whole response was irresponsible on your part. You said i've never talked about Hayden before on here. I've been having back and forths with Tony on here all week about him. We both like him alot and we know his stock is skyrocketing. Then you said the video did not show him making any interceptions. Did you seriously not expect me to defend my position?

I never implied the thought of not expecting you to respond. I was referring to you wanting to draft him as a 1st round talent, as if you had him graded that high all along. I hope he does well, but if you're so confident in your attempt to belittle my opinion, I'd gladly offer a bet with you in who has the better season as a rook. I'm sure you'll be here after the season is over.

ummmm, you are the one that belitteled my opinion. I am confident in saying that Hayden will be the better NFL corner.

Sun Apr 21, 2013 11:34 pm

swerve13

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Re: D.J Hayden now #1 CB for Mike Mayock

phinsfansc wrote:

Mark, I think AFC is just saying that he likes Milliner over Hayden, PERIOD. He's not questioning that you have been on Hayden for a while.

AFC, I tend to agree with you that Milliner has played against much better competition, but LA Tech Quniton Patton is a pretty good WR, and Hayden shut him down. I do believe Hayden is a very good CB and would have no problem taking him late in the 1st, early 2nd round.

hmmmmmm, Hayden has as many interceptiions as Milliner and played in 17 less games. And has almost the same amount of tackles.And who is the better corner? And East said that I am drinking the Hayden Koolaid.Sounds like there's alot of Miliner Koolaid going around too.

Sun Apr 21, 2013 11:37 pm

swerve13

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Re: D.J Hayden now #1 CB for Mike Mayock

I'm not saying that Milliner isn't one of the best 15 players in this draft but I don't think he's a superstar either

Quote:

ESPN's Mel Kiper believes Alabama CB Dee Milliner doesn't match up with previous drafts' top CBs."He doesn't have Patrick Peterson’s skill set, or Mo Claiborne’s, or Deion Sanders’. We know that," Kiper said. "He doesn't have, necessarily, the overall talent, physically and athletically, of Dre Kirkpatrick, his former teammate But he is more fundamentally sound." Kiper went on to add that he expects Milliner to be selected in the top six picks.

Quote:

NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah tweeted Tuesday that he does not view Alabama CB Dee Milliner as a top-ten talent in the 2013 NFL Draft.Jeremiah also doesn't view West Virginia QB Geno Smith as a top-ten talent, but acknowledges that Milliner and Smith will likely get "pushed up the board" because they're the best quarterback and cornerback, respectively, available. "Happens every year," Jeremiah said. Milliner is closer to a top-ten talent than Smith. We'd be shocked if Milliner lasted beyond the top-ten picks.

Quote:

Speaking on his pre-draft conference call, NFL Network's Mike Mayock said he doesn't think a cornerback will be picked in the top ten.Alabama's Dee Milliner has been the only name floated as a top-ten pick in mock drafts, possibly as high as No. 2 to the Jaguars or No. 6 to the Browns. NFL teams are not as high on Milliner as the draftnik community. The Dolphins hold the 12th pick and are said to be "very high" on Milliner. It's a legitimate possibility that he will still be available there. Meanwhile, Mayock has vaulted Houston's D.J. Hayden ahead of Milliner as his No. 1 corner in the draft.

Last edited by swerve13 on Mon Apr 22, 2013 3:48 am, edited 1 time in total.

ummmm, you are the one that belitteled my opinion. I am confident in saying that Hayden will be the better NFL corner.

Hmmm....so no bet?

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Sun Apr 21, 2013 11:57 pm

wkloiber13

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Re: D.J Hayden now #1 CB for Mike Mayock

Hayden the #1 corner, I think 4/20 started a little early for Mike Mayock.

Mon Apr 22, 2013 12:58 am

swerve13

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Re: D.J Hayden now #1 CB for Mike Mayock

AFCMiamiEast wrote:

swerve13 wrote:

ummmm, you are the one that belitteled my opinion. I am confident in saying that Hayden will be the better NFL corner.

Hmmm....so no bet?

sure. what's the bet?I think there could be 2 or 3 corners in this draft that end up being better pro corners than Milliner.I don't think he's super special and guys on great college teams get overhyped all the time. They're surrounded by great talent so they're never exposed. And always playing with a lead.

Last edited by swerve13 on Mon Apr 22, 2013 3:53 am, edited 1 time in total.

Mon Apr 22, 2013 2:27 am

swerve13

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Re: D.J Hayden now #1 CB for Mike Mayock

first Mayock, then Lande, now add Greg Cosell to the growing list of draft experts that think Hayden is the best corner in the draft.

Quote:

D.J. Hayden

COSELL: I watched four games of D.J. Hayden this week, and I’m telling you it was the first time I’d ever seen him play, and as I’m watching I say, “Wait a second, this guy’s the best corner in the draft.” My guess is he won’t be drafted as such. But on film to me, he was the best corner in the draft. He has the naturally quickest feet of any corner in the draft. His backpedal was the most fluid. His balance and body control was absolutely remarkable. He was a sudden mover. He was competitive. He played the run. To me, he was the most physically gifted corner in this draft class.

Think about the backpedal and what has to happen off of the backpedal: Either you have to plant and drive and go forward, or if the receiver runs some kind of vertical route, you’ve got to then transition with smooth hips and fluid change of direction in order to turn in run. There are a lot of guys who can plant a drive but struggle with vertical routes. There are some guys who are good at turning and running, but it takes them fives steps to plant and drive. He was really, really good at both. And when he played press-man, he was right in the hip of the wide receiver. I watched him against Quinton Patton. Quinton Patton was irrelevant in the game. Hayden matched up to him the whole game.

Dee Milliner

COSELL: Milliner is a very, very good corner prospect. He played more to the boundary than he did to the field in the games I watched, and I thought there were some similarities to Stephon Gilmore out of South Carolina last year. Milliner’s an aggressive kid. Overall he’s a very comfortable press-man corner. He’s got smooth balance and body control, but he’s not as good with his back pedal as Hayden is. But Milliner’s going to be a good player.

Last edited by swerve13 on Mon Apr 22, 2013 2:33 am, edited 2 times in total.

Mon Apr 22, 2013 2:29 am

swerve13

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Re: D.J Hayden now #1 CB for Mike Mayock

wkloiber13 wrote:

Hayden the #1 corner, I think 4/20 started a little early for Mike Mayock.

and for Russ Lande and Greg Cosell too? They must all be hippies.

Just because Mock drafts have things a certain way for 3 months doesnt mean that will be the end result.Take last year's draft. Bruce Irvin was a 3rd to 4th round pick from January til a week before the draft. Then there was some rumors of him being selected in round 1 days leading up to the draft and then Wammo! Seattle picked him 15th overall. The evaluation process goes right down to the wire. And the dramatic injury to Hayden stalled his evaluation process, Teams were just dismissing him because of it. But doctors say it's a non-issue going forward and now teams are falling in love with him.

Mon Apr 22, 2013 2:30 am

swerve13

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Re: D.J Hayden now #1 CB for Mike Mayock

Walter Football's updated Milliner prediction:

Quote:

Dee Milliner falls to No. 10? It's absolutely possible. Non-elite cornerbacks are not drafted highly. No corner has gone in the top four since Charles Woodson in 1998. Morris Claiborne, predicted by many to be selected No. 3 overall last year, slipped to No. 6. Milliner is not as good as Claiborne. He's been overhyped, and he's definitely not going as high as the media projects him. He's not a play-maker; he has just six interceptions in three years (compared to Claiborne's six in 2011 alone), and he was not asked to backpedal at Alabama. He'll have to learn new technique.

Mon Apr 22, 2013 2:46 am

swerve13

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Re: D.J Hayden now #1 CB for Mike Mayock

Quote:

SI's Peter King believes Houston CB D.J. Hayden might be the consensus top CB in this draft among teams.Hayden ranks as the top corner on Greg Cosell and Mike Mayock's rankings, but everyone else seems to prefer other corners such as Dee Milliner, Xavier Rhodes, and Desmond Trufant. Our own Josh Norris ranks Hayden as the second best senior corner behind Boise State's Jamar Taylor. Expect the Houston corner to be a top 30 pick.

-Rotoworld

Mon Apr 22, 2013 1:09 pm

swerve13

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Re: D.J Hayden now #1 CB for Mike Mayock

Quote:

KPRC-TV Houston's Randy McIllvoy says the New York Jets were impressed with Houston CB D.J. Hayden.Hayden worked out for 10 teams on Monday and apparently impressed the Jets. They hold the No. 9 and 13 selections in the draft and have a significant hole at cornerback following the trade of star defender Darrelle Revis.

ummmm, you are the one that belitteled my opinion. I am confident in saying that Hayden will be the better NFL corner.

Hmmm....so no bet?

sure. what's the bet?I think there could be 2 or 3 corners in this draft that end up being better pro corners than Milliner.I don't think he's super special and guys on great college teams get overhyped all the time. They're surrounded by great talent so they're never exposed. And always playing with a lead.

We'll definitely figure something out bro, we've got time.

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Tue Apr 23, 2013 10:38 am

swerve13

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Re: D.J Hayden now #1 CB for Mike Mayock

Quote:

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport mentioned when speaking to a scout about Houston CB D.J. Hayden's tape, the evaluator started giggling."For a guy no one talked about a month ago, the buzz is nuts," Rapoport tweeted. "People love his tape." As they should. Unlike other prospects with injury questions, Hayden appears to be gaining steam and could be a top 20 selection thanks to his ball skills after locating the target in man coverage and his ability to quickly undercut routes.